“A toast to the Seahawks. I heard that they … ” lost. Just a one word edit from last year’s Super Bowl post. Ah, the power of words. I worked through the game, or at least most of it. So it goes. Some day I’ll sit in on a Super Bowl party, but evidently that’s at least a year away. I quit watching in 1982 when I realized I got incredibly emotional about the Steelers in a sport where, on average, every team loses half the time and wins half the time. The ads, however, intrigue me. Just like the parties, they’re insights into what people care about, or at least what people are told to care about. So, join me as I pour myself an after work cocktail, and sit and sip and watch this year’s ads. What issues, trends, and styles are winning and losing this year?

Consider this. If there were no ads, would there be a Super Bowl? I like to think that yes, there would be a Super Bowl and professional football, but there would be far less money involved. Let’s see where the money’s being spent.

(Thanks to YouTube for providing a channel for the ads that doesn’t require watching or recording the entire game plus the pre-halftime-post game shows.)

GrubHub: Ordering food without having to deal with people. And that’s good?

Microsoft: Courage in the face of reality. And use software to manage it.

M&T Bank: Somehow landscaping for cemeteries is tied to banks.

Clash of Clans: Live the game, in your local coffeeshop, because where else can you succeed?

Carnival Cruises: JFK sells the sea, and makes me think a sailboat is a better idea.

Disconnect. And I’m about ready to. There must be an end to this commercialization.

Hallelujah! I made it back around to the beginning.

Here’s what I’m left with.
Microsoft says it best, Courage In The Face Of Reality. There’s a pervading sense that where we are is something that demands perseverance. Life needs fixing. That’s not just a Microsoft message, and it may be inherent in every sales pitch; otherwise, why buy anything? The most positive message was from the centenarians. Live in the moment. Appreciate what you have.

The majority of the rest of the ads sell the idea that we should ignore reality through escapism and fantasy.

Rarely does an ad sell the goods or services the company sells. It must be tough selling cars because they so rarely describe something they do that the others don’t. Many products only distinguish themselves by their branding, not because they are obviously better than their competitors. The loudest defense of a brand is that everyone else buys it so you should too.

I just watched 60 ads. That’s possibly as many as I’ll see for the rest of the year since I disconnected my television. Maybe the YouTube ads will make up the difference, but it will take months. Stepping away from the hourly onslaught makes most ads look sad and silly. As television is replaced by streaming media, and as awareness grows of our reality, many brands that rely on old media and old habits will be replaced as well. The celebrity couple in the electric BMW will probably be even further behind because change is accelerating. Microsoft seems to understand that, as do the companies with various progressive messages; but I feel as if I just devoted more than an hour to witnessing the birth of dozens of anachronisms. l wonder what the ads will be like next year.